Greetings!!!!

Congrats on taking the next step to reaching a healthier you by getting active with SparkPeople - it's a great community, wonderful resources and fantastic support. You're off to a great start already!

Please check out the SparkTeams - I think you will find a lot of others 'just like you' there or at least others who have similar characteristics and circumstances. You can choose SparkTeams by age group, lifestyle or interests, geographic location or several other ways.

Some of the teams I like and think you might like include the Official 10-minute Daily Exercise Streak Challenge, Starting Over Weekly Mini-Challenge Team, 10k Steps A Day and Motivation & Positive Attitude Plan - but there are so many to choose from, you can have a great time looking for the ones that seem to fit you best! In fact, I suggest joining more than one group, post your intro there and write blogs as often as you can - you will find tons of friends and support that way, I promise!!

In my experience, SparkPeople is like a in some ways - it's lots of fun and easy to make friends because we're all in this together. I like the way a HEALTHY LIFESTYLE is emphasized instead of a 'quick fix wonder diet' so it's good for people wanting to lose weight, maintain a previous loss, get healthier, improve fitness and many other goals including gaining weight or saving money - it's about waaaaaay more than 'just' losing weight so you have definitely come to the right place!

If you ever need any help using features of the site, there are tutorial videos under the HELP section that can show you how to use the features of the site. You can also find them on the START page and several other places on the site.

Be sure to read and 'study' The Spark book because it outlines the overall program and is compatible with most types of eating plans. If you haven't already discovered the SparkDiet linked at the bottom of the START page, check it out - the program is simple but extremely effective. There is a TON of information on this site - so much it might even seem overwhelming but fortunately we don't have to 'digest' everything at once! The FastBreak program is a good way to start.

Another nice thing about SparkPeople is that we have permission to be human - we don't have to change everything at once or be in a hurry to reach our goals. Take a few baby steps and then a few more and before you know it, you'll have completed a long journey - I hope you enjoy this community as much as I have - it teaches us how to make positive lifetime changes because that's the only thing that will work over time!

Hi and welcome to SparkPeople. It's a great site and it will help you reach your goals. When I started out (about a year ago) I intended to lose 20 pounds. I enjoyed sparking so much that I lost 30 pounds. I enjoy tracking my food and exercise, reading articles, and connecting with friends and my teams. I hope that you come to enjoy SparkPeople as much as I have.

Hello and welcome to Spark People! You've certainly come to the right place to kick off a healthier lifestyle.

I simply LOVE this site! It is filled with wonderful, supportive people and lots of great (free) resources and tools. Since joining SP on January 1, I've already lost 51 pounds! But more importantly, I feel happier and healthier and have so much more energy!

Good luck on YOUR Spark journey, and drop by my Spark page any time you need motivation or just want to say, "Hi!"

Every journey begins with the first step and you have made a great first step by joining Spark. You are going to love it here!! I highly recommend joining a few teams to meet some of our members to share ideas and get added support when you need it. Good luck in reaching your goal!!

My name is Michelle and I'm from New England. I haven't spent a lot of time looking through the site yet, but will over time. I belong to a cooking forum that I love and when I heard about this, I thought it might be a good way to get back on track.

Long story short, found myself being way to serious and way to unhappy with some stressful things going on in life right now (nursing school, not being able to find a job, moving, etc...) that I am just no fun anymore. So my new resolution as I come up on my 34th birthday in a few days is to be Happier and Healtheir. I will admit I don't have a lot of weight to lose, but I do need to lose about 7 lbs and overall just want to be healtheir!

So here I am and am looking forward to meeting some new people and checking out what this site has to offer.

SparkPeople, SparkCoach, SparkPages, SparkPoints, SparkDiet, SparkAmerica, SparkRecipes, DailySpark, and other marks are trademarks of SparkPeople, Inc. All Rights Reserved. No portion of this website can be used without the permission of SparkPeople or its authorized affiliates.
SPARKPEOPLE is a registered trademark of SparkPeople, Inc. in the United States, European Union, Canada, and Australia. All rights reserved.

NOTE: Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy last updated on October 25, 2013